


Offensive Line

by OptimisticBeth



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, American Football, Arby's, F/M, Offensive Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-13
Updated: 2020-11-13
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:39:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27542461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OptimisticBeth/pseuds/OptimisticBeth
Summary: Rey works at a fast food place, and part of the varsity football team always comes in after practice.She is not a fan.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 19
Kudos: 156
Collections: Ijustfellintothissendhelp





	Offensive Line

Rey liked her after school job okay. It was nice to get away from her foster dad’s house for a while and have some pocket money for when her friends wanted to do things. The Arby’s she worked at was close enough to walk to from school, so she didn’t have to waste gas, and, even though her coworkers were a little lazy sometimes, they were generally pleasant, and the manager helped behind the counter when they were really busy and was good at getting everyone on task.

So, all in all, her job was a good place to be.

The only real downside was probably that football practice got out before her shift ended, usually while she was alone on the register, so she often had to deal with a small crowd of hungry varsity players by herself.

Her friend Finn used to be on the football team’s defensive line, but he’d quit because of the toxic atmosphere under Coach Tarkin. He’d stayed friends with the running back, a friendly boy named Poe, because Poe was “the only person on the team who isn’t an asshole.”

Poe usually accompanied the group to Arby's and was a charming addition to interactions Rey had come to dread.

“French Fry!” came the exuberant greeting that afternoon. The speaker was Elrik, the team's quarterback, a lean boy with a red baseball cap over floppy black hair.

Elrik was the kind of boy who could charm parents into trusting him and then break their daughters’ hearts the very next day.

And smile through all of it.

He’d nicknamed Rey “French Fry” because he claimed she always smelled like fries, even at school. He always smiled as he said it, like they were sharing a joke, but Rey didn’t find it funny.

A pair of red-haired boys followed behind Elrik, the big one laughing at Elrik's wit and the slender one rolling his eyes. Poe entered just behind them and gave her a friendly wave, but it was spoiled by the looming gloom behind him: the two tallest students in school and stars of the team’s defense.

Rey had, at first, been excited to meet the only female football player in the school’s history, despite Finn’s assertion that she was the meanest girl he’d ever met. Rey thought that _of course_ the girl would have to be tough in a male-dominated sport, and _of course_ a boy wouldn’t get that. So Rey had tried to be friendly. Over and over, she’d tried, but the girl continued to roll her eyes and ignore her.

Phasma. Defensive end, scourge of opposing quarterbacks, legend in the making… and kind of a bitch.

The boy behind her, over six feet just like Phasma but broader across the shoulders, was something… else. He was sullen and volatile. He’d throw equipment when practice didn't go well, according to Finn, but Rey had found an unexpected ally in his grumpiness.

He somehow always ended up last in line, which had him griping at anyone who lingered at Rey's register. She was secretly thankful for his impatience because it made the parade of assholery go faster.

Though it _was_ annoying when he did it to Poe. She liked Poe's banter, and Poe liked to tease the team's student manager, Hux, who would lose his shit if his order wasn't perfect and had made Rey's life hell on several occasions.

So it only made Rey appreciate Poe more that he had come up with the nickname “Hugs” and that Hux's pinched face got more and more prune-mouthed whenever anyone called him that.

“Hey, Ben, c'mere!” Elrik called from the front of the line.

The tall sullen boy shot Elrik a wary glance but meandered toward the register. When he arrived, towering above his quarterback, Elrik patted Ben's chest and turned to Rey with that semi-permanent smile. “Listen. I'll give you fifty bucks to take my buddy here out back and suck his dick.”

“ _Excuse_ me?” Rey said, her voice overlapping Ben's, “The fuck?!”

Poe intruded, focused on Rey while Ben jerked back as if Elrik had suckerpunched him. “I am _so_ sorry,” said Poe. “That was completely inappropriate—”

He kept talking, but Rey was watching Ben.

He hadn’t looked at Rey once, though his pale cheeks flushed with either anger or embarrassment. “Elrik,” he said, raising his hands as if to make a point and then stopping and closing his eyes as his jaw worked. Like he couldn’t quite believe what was happening. “What the fuck is _wrong_ with you?”

Elrik rolled his eyes. “We all know you have a thing for French Fry. I'm just helping you out.”

Ben sucked in a breath, his refusal to look at Rey suddenly feeling very intentional as his blush got darker.

Their teammates had gone quiet, watching as if waiting for a bomb to go off. Even Poe looked as if this was news, casting glances between Rey and Ben.

Rey cleared her throat, drawing all eyes, even Ben's. “Out,” she told Elrik, calmly pointing at the door.

Elrik scoffed, defensive. “It was just a joke.”

Rey's mouth curved into a tight smile as she pushed away from the counter. “Let's see if my manager thinks it's funny.”

“ _I_ don't think it's funny,” said Phasma, her arms crossed and feet planted. Rey stopped in her tracks to stare at the other girl, astonished. She didn't look any friendlier than usual, but now her animosity was aimed at the quarterback rather than at Rey.

“I don't, either,” Poe said hotly, glaring at Elrik.

“Nor I,” murmured Ben. He towered over Elrik and didn't have to do much at all to be the most intimidating person in the room.

Rey went to find her manager and came back with Miss D'Acy to find four of the players facing off against Elrik while the big redhead stood back and watched with wide eyes.

No, not four players. Three players and one manager. Seriously, what was the world coming to when _Hux_ decided to defend Rey?

It was a sign of the apocalypse, surely.

“Red cap,” Rey told her boss, who bore down on the boy with all the authoritative fury in her limited power. She yelled at him, then banned him from setting foot in the building again. When he tried to argue, she offered to ask the police what they thought about him soliciting her employees for prostitution.

He kept claiming it was just a joke, acting like he was the injured party, and it was Phasma who stepped forward and told him, “I've known guys like you before, Elrik, and it is never _just_ a joke. It only turns into a joke when you're called on it. So take your bullshit out of here before we beat you the fuck down.”

Poe nodded, and Hux raised a condescending eyebrow. It was Ben who took a menacing step forward to join Phasma, prompting Elrik to back away and out the door.

Later, when Rey told the story to Finn, she would learn the odd dynamics of that standoff. That Ben and Phasma got along because they worked out defensive strategies together; that Hux hated Ben and Poe but was childhood friends with Phasma and always had her back; and that Phasma had kept the team from bullying Hux while Hux fought to defend her right to play as a girl.

Rey would think, later, that the situation with Hux and Phasma was oddly sweet and that maybe Finn wasn't the most trustworthy source of information about the team. He did have a pretty big chip on his shoulder about how they'd treated him (and they _had_ treated him poorly), but they also didn't seem to be the total monsters he'd led her to believe.

* * *

…especially when, the next day, more of the varsity football team poured through the doors than usual. She scanned the crowd for Elrik and didn’t see him, so she greeted the first of the group with a relieved smile.

When it was Hux’s turn, he treated Rey with his usual condescension, but Phasma had thawed enough to offer the smallest possible nod in greeting.

Rey would take it.

It wasn’t until Poe approached, having lingered at the back of the group, that she realized Ben wasn’t among the crowd. It surprised her, since she’d noticed him in the hallways at school and even caught him staring at her a few times. He’d immediately flushed and pretended he’d been looking at something else, but it had left her wondering if what Elrik had said about Ben liking her was true.

“Elrik got the shit knocked out of him at practice today,” Poe informed her with a cheeky grin.

Rey’s brows rose, and she forced herself to focus on Poe instead of the door.

“Ben and Phasma run the defense, I’m friends with most of the offense, and Hux is the pettiest person I’ve ever met. Between the four of us, Elrik’s got no chance for an easy season.”

Rey huffed a little laugh. She almost felt bad for the guy.

Almost.

Poe ran a finger along the counter’s edge. “You coming to the game this week?”

Rey nodded. “I’ll be in the stands with Finn and Rose.”

Poe’s eyes met hers, twinkling with delight, and she couldn’t stop herself from smiling back at him. She’d hung out with Poe a few times before, when their paths crossed through Finn. He flirted sometimes, but he was harmless. “I'm throwing a pool party after the game,” he said, leaning forward as if imparting a secret. “For the team to unwind. You want to come?”

Rey pursed her lips and considered it, leaning her elbows on the counter. “A pool party like with _swimming_? Or is it the kind where the pool is just some stupid decoration?”

“I’m sure _no one_ would mind if you showed up in a bikini.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’d have to _own_ a bikini for that.”

Poe shrugged easily. “There will be people swimming, yeah. Most people bring a suit and change in the pool house.”

She gave him a flat look. “You have a _pool house_. That’s so obnoxious.”

“Hey, don’t blame me for my parents’ good fortune.” He smirked. “So, are you coming?”

Rey considered for a moment. Her foster father wouldn’t care. He never asked where she went or who she was with or gave her talks about safety. “If Finn and Rose are, sure.”

Poe grinned. “I will make that happen.” He didn’t join his friends right away, though, instead standing and tapping his fingers against the counter. When he spoke again, he wasn’t looking at her. “Can I ask you a favor?”

“Depends on the favor.”

Poe gave her an appraising look. “Okay,” he said on a huff, as if he’d made up his mind about something. “Ben’s been miserable since Elrik pulled that shit, and I was hoping you might be willing to throw the guy a bone.”

Rey blinked at Poe, frowning, but he held up a hand before she could even think about opening her mouth.

“You don't have to go out with him. Just… talk to him. At my party. Even the bare minimum of attention from you will make his night.” When she still didn’t know what to say, he gave her a gentle smile. “He likes you. He wouldn’t have gotten so pissed at Elrik if he didn’t.”

Rey looked away and realized she was looking at the door again, still expecting Ben to duck through it and order his usual chocolate milkshake. Finally, she said, “I don't want to lead anyone on.”

Poe shrugged. “You don't have to lead someone on to be nice to them.”

Rey sighed and shook her head. “Yeah. Okay. Maybe. _If_ I go.”

Poe pressed his palms together as he walked backwards, smiling. “Thank you.”

Rey shook her head at him and wondered what exactly she’d gotten herself into.

**Author's Note:**

>  **Relevant Varsity Football Players:**  
>  Elrik Vonreg (appearance via voice actor Lex Lang): Quarterback  
> Poe Dameron: Running Back  
> Finn: Former Tight End  
> Ben Solo: Cornerback  
> Phasma: Defensive End, scourge of opposing quarterbacks  
> Rodinon: Linebacker  
> Armitage Hux: Team Manager  
> Wilhuff Tarkin: Head Coach
> 
> With thanks to accidental-amanda for help understanding positions.


End file.
